1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to medical apparati and, more particularly, to a sterile handle cover for a surgical lamp.
2. Background of the Invention
The rising cost of medical care and medical treatment has challenged administrators of medical facilities and has encouraged such administrators to look for techniques and devices to reduce the operating costs of the medical facility. Various types of devices and techniques have been proposed by the prior art in an effort to reduce the ever-increasing cost of medical care.
One area of concern where cost reduction has been sought resides in the sterilization of medical equipment. All medical devices and instruments used in proximity to patients have to be sterilized by the medical facility prior to use. This sterilization is typically accomplished by sterilizers installed within the medical facility which are designed for accommodating devices and instruments which are immediately required by the medical facility. With the ever-increasing number and design of medical instruments, the problems associated with sterilizing a large number of instruments of various sizes and shapes creates a substantial burden on the medical facility. In particular, in operating rooms, where incisions are made into the patient, all surfaces which may come in contact with the surgeon must be sterile prior to the commencement of the operation. The sterilization of all surfaces in which the surgeon may come in contact has become extemely burdensome for the medical facility, in view of the increasing number of devices, machines and apparati now present in the typical operating room.
Accordingly, medical facilities have looked toward disposable sterile covers for the various surfaces of the operating room which will be contacted by the operating surgeon. These disposable sterile covers are generally cost effective, since the covers may be mass produced and mass sterilized by a medical manufacturer in contrast to the sterilization normally affected within a medical facility. Furthermore, the disposable, pre-sterilized covers have the advantage of being readily available for emergency operations which are not planned by the medical facility. Accordingly, the use of disposable sterile covers within the medical facility has proved to be cost effective in the relatively recent history thereof.
In an operating room, the patient is typically placed on a table under an operating room lamp for illuminating the point of incision for the surgeon. During the course of the operation, the direction of illumination of the operating room lamp is generally changed, depending upon the position of the patient and the personnel in attendance at the operation. Many physicians desire to adjust the operating room lamp personally, rather than verbally direct another in the adjustment so that the exact point to be illuminated may be obtained by the physician. Accordingly, the light handle of a surgical lamp or an operating room lamp almost certainly will come in contact with the hand of the surgeon, and accordingly, the light handle of an operating room lamp must either be protected by a sterile handle cover or must be sterilized by conventional means.
Many among the prior art have attempted to provide sterile light handle covers for surgical lamps, utilizing a generally-cylindrical handle portion with a conical protector extending from one end thereof. These devices were typically made of a unitary piece of flexible plastic or rubber material for insertion on the generally-cylindrical handle of the surgical lamp. Although these devices have provided an important improvement in the medical art, the devices had several disadvantages. First, the devices, when applied to the light handle cover, were difficult to remove after the operation was completed due to suction created by the generally cylindrical handle portion. Second, the covers were of limited size and, accordingly, did not provide adequate protection from the hand of the surgeon when touching surfaces adjacent to the lamp handle when the surgeon was attentive on the incision area and not actively looking at the lamp handle. Accordingly, if the surgeon inadvertantly touched a non-sterile area of the surgical lamp, the surgeon must retire and resterilize before returning to the operation. Such a resterilization results in an enormous increase in medical costs, as well as an unnecessary use of an operating room facility.
It is the primary object of the present invention to provide a sterile handle cover that overcomes the inadequacies of the prior art devices and provides an improvement which significantly contributes to the maintenance of a sterile condition in an operating room.
Another object of this invention is to provide a sterile handle cover for covering the lamp handle of a surgical lamp, which incorporates a grip portion defined by a first and a second end, with an end wall integrally attached to the first end and with a cone-shaped protector connected to the second end and extending radially outward therefrom, with a plurality of ribs disposed in the grip portion for frictionally engaging the lamp handle of the surgical lamp.
Another object of this invention is to provide a sterile handle cover for covering the lamp handle of a surgical lamp, wherein the ribs extend longitudinally along the length of the grip portion, and at least one of the grip portion and the plurality of ribs is tapered for effecting the frictional engagement with the lamp handle and providing easy removal of the handle cover subsequent to the medical treatment.
Another object of this invention is to provide a sterile handle cover for covering the lamp handle of a surgical lamp, incorporating a second cone-shaped protector which is connected to the outer periphery of the cone-shaped protector, enabling the second cone-shaped protector to be disposed in a first and a second bistable position to either increase the area of protection provided by the handle protector or to function as a locating device for the hand of the physician.
Another object of this invention is to provide a sterile handle cover for covering the lamp handle of a surgical lamp, which may be readily produced as a unitary member of a flexible plastic or rubber material.
Another object of this invention is to provide a sterile handle cover for covering the lamp handle of a surgical lamp, which is readily adapted to be a pre-sterilized and packaged as a disposable product.
The foregoing has outlined some of the more pertinent objects of the present invention. These objects should be construed to be merely illustrative of some of the more prominent features and applications of the invention. Many other beneficial results can be attained by applying the disclosed invention in a different manner or modifying the invention within the scope of the invention. Accordingly, other objects and a fuller understanding of the invention may be had by referring to the summary of the invention and the detailed description describing the preferred embodiment in addition to the scope of the invention defined by the claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.